“Therefore,
as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness,
humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one
another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you,
so you also must do. But above all
these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your
hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-15 NKJV)
This is what we
need to put on as we go to church. These
are attitudes of the heart that prepare us to meet with God corporately.
“Therefore…” based on who we are in Christ
(v.1-11): risen with Him, dead to the old life—a brand new creation, we are to be
transformed in our entire being—the
clearest evidence being our attitudes toward others. This is befitting a child of God, chosen out
of the world by the Father’s
love, “as
the elect of God, holy and beloved.”
Before you come to
the worship service make sure you, “put on tender mercies.” Jesus
said, “Blessed
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” We need to cut
each other some slack. I desperately
need mercy from God, and appreciate it from others, so I can only have it if I
share it!
“Put on…kindness.” More
important than putting on hairspray or cosmetics, put on a kind face. Charles Stanley, Pastor of First Baptist
Church Atlanta has had a global outreach through In Touch Ministries. But do you know what greatly influenced his
life? More than anything that he was
taught, he had a Sunday School teacher he recalls was so kind to a group of
boys. Sometimes a little means a lot!
“Put on…humility.” The proud church member wants the spotlight on
them, but the humble want it on God. Do you
come to worship seeking pats on the back instead of offering praises to God?
“Put on…meekness.” The
meek are not demanding, insisting on his or her way. They are eager to compromise preferences
where no principle is involved. Wouldn’t that stop a lot
of church fights?
“Put on…longsuffering; bearing with one another.”
The longsuffering are patient with
people and not bitter toward God. The
reality is that some folks in the church are rather easy to love—and some you just
have to put up with…but
God does so with us, and we must bear with others.
Those ready for
worship are forgiving (v.13). You can’t offer acceptable
worship otherwise—Jesus
said to leave your gift at the altar and be reconciled to your brother. It is hard to sit on a pew and worship God
with someone with whom you are mad.
“Love” is the belt that
holds your ensemble together (v.14). Don’t leave home
without it!
Then there will be
peace inside us that leads to unity in the Body. Hearts in harmony with God’s commands lead to
a congregation in harmony with each other.
We’ll have a thankful
spirit. That’s a well-dressed
Christian! If you want to come to church
to critique what goes on instead of looking to express worship and extend love,
you certainly are going to be able to find fault for even at our best there will
be some at their worst.
It’s really a
choice. Did you hear about the grumpy
looking fellow who with gruff voice came into the seafood restaurant and asked
the waitress, “Do
you serve crabs?”
Her answer was, “Oh yes sir, we’ll serve anybody!” And we will do so at the church…we’ve been doing in
for 2,000 years.
Make sure you are
preparing your heart for worship and that when you come to church this Sunday
morning—be
a well-dressed Christian! Then we’ll all be
thankful.
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